The
Democratic Party Leadership needs to go see the Wizard of Oz. No, not
see the movie. They need to find the actual Wizard of Oz. It is clear to
many that the Democratic Party doesn’t have a heart, or a brain, or any
courage at all. There is a terrible tornado that has been wrecking the
country for the past seven years, and all the Democratic Party wants to
do is follow in the steps of the Wicked Witch of the East and pretend
that there isn’t anything dreadfully wrong. Not even Dorothy would do
such a thing.

The Democratic Party could certainly use a heart. They must have
misplaced their heart somewhere along the way (as many political parties
eventually do) because they aren't asking questions about the unjust war
in Iraq (or the wire tapping or the signing statements), and impeachment
if off the table.. They have no
intention of stopping the deaths of soldiers and innocent civilians in
the illegal (and immoral) Iraqi War for oil. Or torture for that matter.
Instead, they talk about leaving Iraq with honor. Where have we heard
that before? (hint- Nixon during the Vietnam War)

The Democratic Party would certainly improve the tin delivery of their
‘policy’ statements, and maybe they would even start believing in the
issues they was talking about, if they only had a heart. I would
recommend that they ask Mr. Dennis Kucinich where to look. It would be
great to have a candidate with Mr. Kucinich’s heart who understands that
you cannot have peace without justice. We need a candidate whose vision
of the world is based on fairness, honesty, and compassion. We don’t
need another candidate who only supports issues if it is politically
expedient to do so.

Which leads us to why the Democratic Party should obviously be looking
for a brain (even though I thought that beating Bush was going to be a
no-brainer). They think that going along with every Bush policy is a
smart thing. Sorry to inform them, but copying the answers from the
dumbest person in the class isn’t exactly the brightest thing to do.
Hopefully the next test they take will be multiple-choice so they could
at least guess at some of the answers.

The Democratic Party Leadership has difficulty acknowledging that voting
to give Mr. Bush authority to go to war was a mistake on their part
(let's not even talk about their failure to support impeachment). They
cannot concede that they were wrong on the alleged WMD threat posed by
Mr. Saddam. They haven't questioned the legality of the Guantanamo Bay
prisoners (I mean enemy combatants). And of course, they were supporters
of the WTO and NAFTA (like all good republicans). They seem to think
that ‘anybody is better than Bush’ should be enough of a presidential
platform to run on.

They waffle on most issues because they haven't made up their mind (oh
wait, that is why they are looking for one). So I would suggest that
they ask Mr. Ralph Nader where to go to find a brain. We could use a
thoughtful candidate that takes the lead in determining what issues are
important instead of waiting for the latest poll to say what was
important. We need a candidate with Mr. Nader’s mind who approaches
social and economic problems in a thoughtful and dedicated manner; who
works at resolving issues in a manner that benefits the public at large;
and who would work relentlessly to protect the public trust first and
foremost. Someone who would work to protect clean air and water, end war
profiteering, and provide health care for all. We could sure use a party
who thinks and acts with their brain instead of the dollar bills that
are waved in their direction.

This leads us to the last thing that the Democratic Party must be
looking for-- courage. If they only had a little courage. It would go a
long way. They could fight the Wicked Witch of the East and maybe use
the 'i' word. And they wouldn’t be afraid of little monkeys yapping at
them. You remember those little flying monkeys. Some of the little
monkeys are saying, ‘if you don’t support the war in Iraq, you are
supporting terrorism.’ or ‘remember 9/11’ if you question anything the
Wicked Witch of the East is doing.

If the Democratic Party only had a little courage they would pick up the
bucket of water and melt away the Wicked Witch of the East.

But they don't. I can't explain why. It does take a heart, a brain, and
courage to determine principles, and to have the conviction to stand up
for them. It may take a little more than a clock, a diploma, and a
medal. But not much more. Maybe all they have to do is click their heels
together and ask. But even that may be too much to ask from the
Democratic Party leadership.

There isn’t a yellow brick road that leads to Oz. But there is a path
that leads to a more just and fair society. It is not paved with
preemptive strikes, or lying about the reasons you go to war, or failing
to take responsibility for your actions.

The path to a fairer and more just society requires that we act with our
heart, and our mind, and have the courage to follow through on our
principles. This is real life, with real consequences. I don’t know what
road America will take the next presidential, but I certainly worry that
the Democratic Party might be on the same path as the wicked witch.

We're asking the Democratic Party Leadership, please wake up. We are not
in Kansas anymore.

(c) 2007
Attila Gyenis

I encourage the
democratic party to give us a reason to vote for them.

Don't Fear Nader - Fear the end of basic Democratic Principles
brought to you courtesy of the Democratic Party Leadership

The American Dream?
- What
exactly is the American dream? We are at a crossroads and have to start
making choices about which dream we want to follow. Who will make the
choice, the community or a corporation?
A look at the struggle in Humboldt County, CA, between community members
and the Pacific Lumber/Maxxam corporation that spent nearly a
quarter of a million dollars into an attempt to recall the District
Attorney in March of 2004. The recall attempt was not successful. But the
struggle continues.

"Those
who already enjoy democracy, liberty, and human rights, in particular,
should not allow their own personal happiness to lull them into
forgetting the many others who are still struggling against tyranny,
slavery, and poverty; and all those who are suffering from
unimaginable forms of oppression, exploitation, and massacres,"
Wei Jingsheng, Chinese Human Rights Advocate, and political prisoner
in China for 15 years.